Citizenship in a consumer society is consumership.

http://www.joebageant.com/joe/2010/02/round-midnight.html

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After all, a home bought in 1890 would be worth about 35 times as much
in 2010 (if maintenance is done to keep it in good condition,
presumably). That's an annual return of 3%.

But that doesn't take inflation into account. To do that, look at the
thick black line. Once home prices fully fall from the bubble's pop,
they will return back to the zero trend. In other words, home prices
merely kept up with inflation over the past 120 years.

http://m.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/03/chart-of-the-day-home-prices-since-1890/72980/

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This is the paradox of pragmatism: the flexibility most likely to
produce success is often least likely to consolidate political
support.

http://m.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/03/the-political-perils-of-pragmatism/72978/

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It's one thing to blindly trust the experts. It's quite another to
doublecheck them with a distributed network of 215 Geiger counters --
forcing them to earn that trust.

http://m.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/03/when-crowdsourced-data-meets-nuclear-power/73005/

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In the Pew Research Center's most recent survey, the organization
reported yesterday that at this time four years ago, TV coverage and
national interest in politics dwarfed the levels being seen today

http://m.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/03/political-coverage-interest-tank-since-07/72994/

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Today's energy supplies provide the equivalent of the work of 22 billion slaves, according to former oil industry man Colin Campbell. But now the wave of oil looks set to leave us high and dry. At well over $100 per barrel, prices are climbing again to the level last reached in 2008. Since then, however, the tone of commentary has changed.

Awareness is increasing of a fundamental problem looming, in which rising demand departs from flattening supply, leading to a shortage in the supply of the global economy's life blood. Until now, false reassurance that we can carry on as we are has come from two factors. First, that there is still oil and second, that new oil fields are still being discovered.

And, of course, there is still oil and small, new amounts are being found. But the situation is like knowing there are 10 mouths to feed tomorrow, yet only food stores enough for eight. Worse, each day, less food is replaced than the amount eaten, while the number of mouths to feed increases.

Instead of falling in love with his own image in a pond, today’s narcissist apparently gazes adoringly at his own Facebook profile.

The year 2006 may be remembered for civil strife in Iraq, the nuclear
weapon testing threat by North Korea, and the genocide in Darfur, but
now it appears that another world event was occurring at the same
time—without headlines, but with far-reaching consequence for all
nations.

That's the year that the world's conventional oil production likely
reached its peak, the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Vienna,
Austria, said Tuesday.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2010/11/101109-peak-oil-iea-world-energy-outlook/

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On Facebook and Twitter, on blogs and author websites and work
profiles, individuals lay out their agonizingly detailed goals for the
future with reckless abandon, taking pains to document every ego
reward along the way.

http://m.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/03/limitless-oprah-and-charlie-sheen-the-scary-side-of-super-sized-ambition/72531/2/

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Now that blind ambition no longer carries the slightest taint and the
term "sell-out" holds no meaning, now that earnest young men sing not
of love but of "want(ing) to be a billionaire so frickin' bad," now
that narcissistic outbursts and trips to rehab are tantamount to
self-promotion, now that, on blogs and Facebook and Twitter, millions
of self-branding voices cry out and are never silenced, now that
reaching for the stars is encountered less, by young people, as
euphemism than high-priority action item, it may be time to question,
at long last, the reigning ethos of super-sized individualism.

http://m.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2011/03/limitless-oprah-and-charlie-sheen-the-scary-side-of-super-sized-ambition/72531/

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"One of the bigwigs in our company explained why we're losing our
co-workers and using robots instead. And admittedly it makes a lot of
sense – a lot of business sense. But in my opinion, it doesn't make
people sense.

"Because you see, robots don't make me laugh. They don't calm me down
when I get nutty about something silly. They don't congratulate me on
the births of my kids or tell me I've got the remnants of a donut on
my mouth. They don't fill my coffee cup, talk about the Reds, shoot
paper wads into a giant garbage can during commercials, and they don't
remind me that what we do on television isn't brain surgery.

"Robots don't do any of those things. And those are the things that
make Good Morning Tri-State what it is."

http://m.cincinnati.com/entertainment/article?a=9567&f=882

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Stephen Hawking, once known primarily for showing that black holes
emit radiation, had lit the path with his 1988 book A Brief History of
Time. The next year, eminent mathematician Roger Penrose mused on
quantum theory, computation, and consciousness in The Emperor's New
Mind. The success of these books was something of a surprise.

http://www.bookforum.com/inprint/017_05/7029

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In this rarefied world, high prices are a feature, not a bug; they're
status symbols that alert others to the fact that the patrons can pay
$26 for something as basic as a spinach salad. They also serve to keep
out the riff-raff. If L'Ami Louis cut its prices so that they were
commensurate with the quality of the food and service, no one would go
there anymore.

http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/03/gastronomics.html

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An athletic director may be present when other schools from his or her
conference are discussed, but he or she may only speak if asked.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_basketball_tournament_selection_process

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it's an unwelcome reminder (how can we keep forgetting this?) that
the world really doesn't lie before us like a land of dreams. At
best—at the very best—it can only offer us choices between two good
things, and as we grasp at one, we lose the other forever.

http://m.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/04/the-ivy-delusion/8397/4/

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kids are inherently strong, not weak; self-esteem derives from
accomplishing difficult and worthwhile pursuits; adults are better
than children at judging what does and does not constitute a valuable
or enriching experience; the better you get at something, the more you
will enjoy doing it; and a great deal of what is on offer to American
teenagers these days is not only coarsening but downright dangerous.

http://m.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/04/the-ivy-delusion/8397/2/

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As he ends the call, he looks agitated and upset. Page Six, the
gossip column of the tabloid New York Post, has a story that he
undertipped a nightclub doorman by giving him only five dollars. "This
is insane," he mutters, "If I did it, it was an accident."

http://m.ft.com/cms/s/2/8383ab06-45e3-11e0-acd8-00144feab49a.html

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What do you think about the world?

I think it's pretty good, but not if you're alone or scared or dead or
something like that.

⁠
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/fxhsu/im_4_years_old_amaa

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In the year that Patrick and I have been divorced, I have taken to
throwing a lot of mementos away -- notes I'd hung onto, photos of him
as a child, photos of us together, mix CDs he'd made me, our wedding
invitations, wedding cards, backstage passes from shows, anything with
the words "The Black Keys" on it.

http://mobile.salon.com/life/feature/2011/03/03/grollmus_divorce_from_black_keys

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There is no problem with flipping a coin or some similar method to
select something or determine a winner as long as we understand that
the outcome is left to chance and nothing else.

http://www.biblestudy.org/question/what-is-casting-lots.html

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In 1917 and 1918, close to 5 million Americans served in World War I,
and Mr. Buckles, a cordial fellow of gentle humor, was the last known
survivor. "I knew there'd be only one some day," he said a few years
back. "I didn't think it would be me."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/28/AR2011022807013.html

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